Following a historic performance at the Vuelta a España, Australia can justifiably call itself a cycling superpower.

And there should be more Australian success to come.

Ben O'Connor (second overall), Jay Vine (king of the mountains) and Kaden Groves (points jersey) ensured that three Australians would grace the podium in Madrid.

Not since 2015 have three different riders from the same nation achieved that feat at any grand tour.

Spaniards Alejandro Valverde (points) Amar Fraile (mountains) and Joaquim Rodríguez (second overall) did so at the 2015 Vuelta, and at the Giro in the same year, Giacomo Nizzolo, Giovanni Visconti and Fabio Aru occupied those same spots. 

From an Australian perspective though, this year's Vuelta was the nation's best return since the 2010 Giro d'Italia.

In that year's Giro, Australia won every jersey bar the overall as Cadel Evans (points), Matthew Lloyd (mountains jersey and combativity prize) and Richie Porte (youth) starred.

The biggest prize may have eluded the Australians again, 14 years later in Spain, but they have still cleaned up the minor jerseys.

And, with O'Connor claiming a hard-earned second place overall finish — the best ever by an Australian rider at the Vuelta, bettering the third-place finishes by Evans in 2009 and Jack Haig in 2021 — it felt like a victory nonetheless. 

"For me, second is a win," O'Connor told CyclingNews after the race.

"I didn't expect to have the [leaders] red jersey and to have it for two weeks.

O'Connor, in fact, wore the red leaders jersey for 13 days at the Vuelta, the most number of days an Australian has ever worn the race leaders jersey at a single edition of any grand tour.

It has him setting his sights higher.

Fourth at this year's Giro, in addition to a fourth place at the 2021 Tour de France, marks O'Connor out as one of the most promising stage racers in the world.

It is, perhaps, unfortunate for him that he lives and races in a era where Jonas Vingegaard and, in particular Tadej Pogačar, take it upon themselves to continually rewrite what is possible in multistage racing.

He admitted to reporters that it was unlikely he could ever beat either of them to win a three-week stage race.

But that doesn't mean he isn't aiming to go one better.

"It's pretty nice to have the feeling that one day that you could maybe win a [grand tour]," O'Connor said.

"That's something I'd probably have found unrealistic before, especially after the Giro. So to be so close here is pretty special.

"To finish on the Vuelta podium is a dream come true. It's something I've been chasing for the last couple of years and to get it at last is amazing."

Kaden Groves dreaming of green in France 

At the other end of the grand tour goals scale, sprinter Groves had yet another superb race.

He has now won back-to-back points jerseys at the Vuelta and become the first Australian to ever defend their jersey at a grand tour.

Sure, this one came in part thanks to the unfortunate crash of Wout van Aert, a crash that ended the superstar Belgian's entire season.

But it's far from a fluke.

Groves has now won eight stages at grand tours over the past three years — ranking him fourth among Australians in grand-tour history. 

That's a hugely impressive return and better than many of his rivals over the same time period, including Jonathan Milan, Tim Merlier, Dylan Groenewegen, Olav Kooij and this year's Tour de France green jersey winner, Biniam Girmay.

It is not better, however, than his principle rival for a spot on Alpecin-Deceuninck's Tour de France team, Jasper Philipsen.

The Flandrian sprinter has won nine stages at the Tour de France in his last three starts, including the points jersey in 2023.

He also won his first monument at Milan-SanRemo earlier this year, putting him at the top of the list.

However, despite seemingly being destined to play second fiddle to the man who veers between being called a disaster and master with almost every sprint, Groves recently re-signed for Alpecin-Deceuninck.

And he still has hopes of competing at the Tour.

"Ideally next year I can race there along with Jasper," Groves said.

"We're different sprinters, I'm more suited to reduced sprints, so hopefully there'll be a place for both of us in the Tour and we can race together like we have done so well in the past."

Jay Vine 'just getting started'

So what of Australia's comeback king of the mountains?

Five months ago there were fears for Vine's ability to hold his then-unborn child, so serious was his crash at the Itzulia Basque Country.

Five months to the day after that crash, he was riding through the same Basque Country roads with the blue and white polka dots jersey on his back.

"It's pretty incredible," Vine said.

"The recovery that I've had is amazing. At the time, we didn't really know if I would be able to ride again, let alone compete. So to be able to be here with the jersey, it was like a dream. 

"To actually be able to pull it off is amazing."

In 2022, Vine was in a similar position, wearing the jersey as mountains leader until a crash on stage 18 ended his race.

Winning the jersey now, following such a traumatic year, certainly gives Vine some closure, while prepping him for what's next.

"I feel like my season is just starting, so I’m looking forward to the rest of it," he said.

Contracted to UAE Team Emirates until 2027, Vine's immediate future will be as a key member of Pogačar's mountains support in grand tours, likely limiting his personal grand tour ambitions for now.

Aussie general classification hopes eye future success

For O'Connor, the new year beckons with fresh potential.

He has signed with Australian team, Jayco AlUla, as its grand tour leader for the next two seasons.

"It's really an idea I've always loved, to race as an Aussie and win on an Aussie team," O'Connor said when his signing was announced. 

Replacing British rider Simon Yates, who is joining Vingegaard's Visma–Lease a Bike squad for the next year, O'Connor will be the undisputed team leader, a role he covets.

"We are obviously looking at someone who will fill in that general classification gap," general manager Brent Copeland said. 

"We believe [Ben] has room for improvement and with this team we will be able to get the best out of him."

Getting the best out of O'Connor has, up until now, been something Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale struggled to do, but with his career hitting a high point over the last month, whether a change of scene will be profitable for the West Australian remains to be seen.

Another Aussie grand tour hope striving for more is forgotten man Jai Hindley.

Hindley, one of just two Australians to ever win the overall classification at a grand tour with Cadel Evans, has had a quietish year, a third-place overall finish at Tirreno-Adriatico his high point.

That is down to his new teammate at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Primoz Roglič.

And, as he is locked into a contract with the German squad until 2026, Hindley's primary role may well be as chief domestique for the four-time Vuelta winner, just as it was at this year's Tour de France.

However, when the 2022 Giro champion announced his re-signing, Hindley emphasised he would be allowed to continue to target grand tours for himself.

It suggests a very bright immediate future for Australia in grand tour racing for several years to come.